Worst Case Scenarios...

February 22, 2007
Today was a real adrenalin rush.

This was the first week I actually took control of a classroom. The students in Environmental Science spent the previous week preparing for an activity in class in which they would debate issues around global human population. There would be 4 groups carrying on debates simultaneously about different topics, all starting and ending at the same time.

My master teacher helped me gear up to be the overall facilitator which involved getting everyone situated, explaining the rules, helping them through the process and evaluating their participation all the while so I could determine grades at the end. At no time did I anticipate a fight breaking out, and I certainly wasn't informed about how to handle such a situation if it did.

And wouldn't you guess? We had two students on opposing sides in a group debating immigration policies - both of whom appear to be at least part Latino. As I made my rounds, it seemed to me that they were contributing the most for each of their sides, and it sounded like they were being constructive. When I came back around, though, things suddenly grew hot.

One student was speaking more from opinion than fact, and the other one was getting visibly annoyed. Words began flying back and forth, and the annoyed one threatened to take off his coat - clearly expressing his intentions. I approached him as he stood up and began to take things off. He seemed to be ignoring my attempts to get his attention and cool down. I didn't know how much I needed to raise my voice or how physical I could get in restraining, but he managed to push past me and head for the other student. Another brave student came to my aid while I called for the master teacher's attention. We managed to separate the two involved in the debate and began the process of reconciliation.

I escorted one student to the vice-principal's office, and the other one was sent down soon after. We spent the next hour listening to a military veteran (who could probably do a good Al Pacino impression) talk the students' ears off about respect, responsibilities and what a privilege it is for them to have a free education in America. Frankly, I didn't like the feeling of being lectured any more than the two kids in the room, but I picked up a lot of key concepts and phrases that I can use later on when I have a situation in the classroom.

As I was leaving, I remember thinking to myself not long ago that I really should learn about school policies and what to do in very similar situations. It was unfortunate that I had to learn the hard way, but it was still a significant learning experience. In fact, I'm sort of glad it happened (so long as it didn't get worse) because it boosted my confidence in being able to handle something like that better if it happens again.

Here are some of my key learnings:

• Put yourself between arguing students to break their eye contact.
• Separate the students as far as possible - usually opposite sides of the classroom.
• Have someone call for security as soon as it gets out of hand.
  
• Defying a teacher's orders and going around them is grounds for suspension.
• Teachers and students are legally protected so that if the fight got physical, the attacker would most likely be taken away in handcuffs.
  

I spent about 6 hours the following weekend compiling all the material to be graded from the debate and determining total grades for each student. There were many variables, and I tried to be as fair and consistent as possible. You can bet the fighters didn't score very well, though.